Elizabethan FT1

[horseforester]

Hi, I am trying to restore my late Dad's Reel to reel Elizabethan FT1 as I know there are some tapes of him and I singing together when I was a toddler. We have taken it out of the loft, left it to warm up, opened it up and gently cleaned away the dust etc. We can see that the belt has broken. Would anyone know where we can get a belt and what it's dimensions may be. We have measured it but it may have stretched. Also any advice on where I might obtain a copy of a users manual, any other details and also where I may be able to obtain parts (other than but another one being sold for spares. Thank you

[Ed_Dinning]

Hi, the belts can often be fixed by using one of the many O ring kits available (if circular section) and making your own of suitable length

Ed

[DMcMahon]

Hello and welcome to the Forum.

If the belt is in good condition (not turned to a gooey mess or have lots of bad cracks/splits) other than being broken, some people have good success with using superglue to glue the ends of the belt back together. If the belt appears too slack, then using a sharp blade cut a piece off each end (to reduce its length, ensuring to get a square cut) before gluing.

If it exists the Service manual must be very rare, you can purchase a 3 page schematic and valve voltages info sheet from here -

https://www.service-data.com/section...tant-downloads

From an older Thread the tape deck is a BSR TD4, said to be the same as the TD2 apart from different heads. You can also purchase the TD2 manual from link above.

Very rare to find any drive belt dimensions in service manuals.

The User manual is equally rare as the service manual.

eBay generally can be a fairly good source of old tape recorder spares but little if anything currently showing for the FT1.

Suggest you post a request for the manuals here -

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...splay.php?f=28

David

[DMcMahon]

Be advised that there is a risk when powering up old tape recorders and other equipment particularly valve based equipment, that there may be problems encountered due to defective components (caused by ageing effects etc) such as capacitors, occasionally these problems could be serious.

David

[Trigon.]

I can't comment on the reliability of this info but from:-

https://reel-reel.com/tape-recorder/elizabethan-ft1/

By 1960 the Elizabethan line of recorders had become so popular that EAP (Electro Audio Products) officially
changed its name to Elizabethan (Tape Recorders) Ltd. The first true Elizabethan model was this, the quarter-track model FT1. It had a single-speed BSR TD1 Monardeck with high-quality Miniflux heads and a 5¾ inch spool capacity. It was quite probably the first British quarter-track recorder on the market.

The TD4 was a smaller deck designed for battery portables.

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...5&postcount=29

Cheers

[Borderer]

If there is only one belt (from the capstan to the right hand spool) then it is most likely a TD2 deck rather than a TD1. The belt is 115mm internal diameter and approx. 2.5mm dia. cross-section. The TD1 had two belts, as far as I can discover they were identical.

[Nickthedentist]

It’s worth noting that you should never risk your precious tapes on a machine until it’s proved trustworthy! Get yourself a sacrificial tape from somewhere.

[DMcMahon]

Not great quality but some general info on the FT1 from original brochure.

David

[horseforester]

Thank you.

[horseforester]

Originally Posted by Ed_Dinning

Hi, the belts can often be fixed by using one of the many O ring kits available (if circular section) and making your own of suitable length

Ed

Thank you.

[horseforester]

Originally Posted by Trigon.

I can't comment on the reliability of this info but from:-

https://reel-reel.com/tape-recorder/elizabethan-ft1/

The TD4 was a smaller deck designed for battery portables.

https://www.vintage-radio.net/forum/...5&postcount=29

Cheers

Thank you.

[horseforester]

Originally Posted by Borderer

If there is only one belt (from the capstan to the right hand spool) then it is most likely a TD2 deck rather than a TD1. The belt is 115mm internal diameter and approx. 2.5mm dia. cross-section. The TD1 had two belts, as far as I can discover they were identical.

Thank you